Lint collector for washing machines



March 28, 1967 J. c. VRANA LINT COLLECTOR FOR WASHING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 14, 1965 ATTORNEYS March 28, 1967 J. c. VRANA 3,310,969

LINT COLLECTOR FOR WASHING MACHINES Filed April 14, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I ///V[/V/'0R $7 5 Jglm c. VRANA ATTORNEYS March 28, 1967 J. c. VRANA 3,310,969

LINT COLLECTOR FOR WASHING MACHINES Filed April 14, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 John a. VEANA BY ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,310,969 LINT COLLECTOR FOR WASHING MACHINES John Charles Vrana, 175 Bienville, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada Filed Apr. 14, 1965, Ser. No. 447,988 8 Claims. (Cl. 68--18) The present invention relates to a lint collector for washing machines.

The object of a lint collector is to remove fibrous material dislodged during the washing and rinsing processes, and so prevent it from depositing on the wash during spin-drying or wringing, and from clogging pumps and valves in the water discharge system of the machine. Previously proposed lint collectors for washing machines, including those being manufactured, generally require special design features in the machine, and often are not easilyremovable for cleaning. This, of course, means extra labour which often has to be done by the technician looking after the servicing of the apparatus. It will consequently be realized that in regard to service alone, the prior art lint collectors are troublesome when it comes to cleaning or replacement and expensive if the service man has to be called in for doing the work. Furthermore, these lint collectors are often hidden from view beneath the agitator and the housewife is not always capable of appreciating how much lint has collected thereon or how worn out the collector may be. Such an oversight on the part of the housewife may lead to troublesome operation of the machine or to clogging of the outlet thereof if the collector is worn out to the point of allowing free passage of lint rather than collect it.

Also, the lint collectors now in use are relatively expensive mostly because of the manner in which they are to be mounted on the machine agitator. Furthermore, the agitator often has to be of special design in order to accommodate the collector, thus resultingin an increased manufacturing cost of the machine.

It is therefore a main object of the invention to provide a lint collector for a conventional type of washing machine having a generally bell-shaped agitator, which collector may easily be mounted on and removed therefrom.

Still another object of the invention lies in the provision of such a lint collector that can be easily serviced by the housewife herself and that is so located that the housewife can readily see whether or not it needs to be cleaned or changed.

Still another object of the invention lies in the relatively low cost thereof due to its extremely simple construction. Furthermore, the collector of the invention may be mounted easily on an agitator of either the rotary or the vertical reciprocation type.

The various above-mentioned objects are found in a wash water lint collector which comprises an elongated strip or ring of fabric woven to arrest lint during passage of wash water therethrough and means along longitudinal edges of the strip to place the said edges under tension.

The above lint collector is for mounting along the circular lower edge of the agitator and in the preferred use of the invention, the upward vanes of the agitator (of the rotary reciprocation type) are formed with notches wherein the longitudinal tensioning means of the collector is received to retain the edges thereof away from Patented Mar. 28, 1967 the agitator surface to allow free passage of water therethrough. In the case of a lint collector for a vertically displaceable reciprocating agitator which has no vertical vanes, the invention proposes the use of a series of spacers mounted along the longitudinal edges of the strip whereby to retain the said edges spaced from the agitator surface for the purpose aforesaid.

This means of spacing may also be used for rotary agitation machines where the vanes are not notched.

It is believed that a better understanding of the invention will be afforded by the following description having reference to the appended drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lint collector according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the lint collector of FIG. 1 about to be mounted on a rotary type agitator also shown in perspective;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a lint collector according to the embodiment of FIG. 1, shown mounted on a partially illustrated agitator of the rotary type;

FIG. 4 is a lint collector according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the collector of FIG. 4 as shown mounted on a partially illustrated agitator of the rotary type;

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view through part of a washing machine tub having a rotary agitator equipped with a lint collector according to the invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of part of a lint collector according to a third embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the lint collector of FIG. 7 shown mounted on a vertically displaceable agitator;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are diagrammatic cross-sectional views of the lint collector of FIG. 7 shown mounted on a partially illustrated agitator.

Generally, the lint collector of the invention comprises an elongated strip 1 or ring of fabric material which need only be described as woven with sufiicient looseness to allow water therethrough while collecting lint.

Strip 1 has the longitudinal edges rolled inwardly and stitched to the main body of strip 1 to form passages 3 for the loose reception of strings 5, the latter of such a length as to project from the end of the passages as illustrated in FIG. 1. Strings 5 may be in the nature of laces preferably provided with the usual end rigid sleeves 7 so that they may easily be threaded through passages 3.

As aforesaid, the lint collector is for mounting on the lower edge of a washing machine agitator of the bell shaped type as illustrated in FIG. 2. The agitator is formed with the usual upward post 9 which gradually merges into an upwardly arcuate circular apron 11. In the rotary type of agitator, the latter is provided with a series of vanes 13 normal to and following the contour of the bell-shaped agitator and are preferably formed with notches 15 adjacent the circular edge of apron l1, slightly upwardly therefrom. Preferably also, somewhat triangular ridges 17 are provided, one between each two upward vanes 13. Alternately, spacers such as 23 in FIG. 7 can provide the necessary spacing.

As will easily be understood, the lint collector 1 is set around the circular edge of apron 11 and the two ends of each string 5 are tightly knotted together, care being taken that the strings are neatly housed within notches all around the agitator.

In the form of embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the upper edge of strip 1 has a wavy contour defining a series of crests 19 and valleys 21 corresponding in number to the number of spaces between each two upward vanes 13. As shown in FIG. 3, the crests are intended to lie in between the vanes to rest on the triangular ridges 17. Again, as best seen in FIG. 3, this will prevent a wavy shape of the collector edge under the agitator, thereby avoiding rapid wear of the lint collector fabric which could result from rubbing on the screw heads found under the agitator near its edge on the tub of some washing machines.

From the above description, it will be understood that the lint collector of the invention is of extreme simplicity in construction as well as in manipulation. Another noted feature is that it may be placed around the lower edge of the agitator without the latter having to be removed from the washing tub.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the edges of strip 1 are parallel so that the upper edge thereof, in position on the agitator as shown in FIG. 5, defines a wavy lower edge between vanes 13. This type of lint collector is somewhat less expensive than that of FIG. 1 since the edges of the material can be cut straight and it has been found that in use the lint collector is also quite efficient and is suitable where a variable projection of the lint collector lower edge under the agitator is acceptable.

The operation of lint collection is clearly illustrated in FIG. 6 where it will be seen that during the rotary reciprocation of the agitator, water tends to be driven into upward somewhat circular or oval shaped clockwise whirls, the direction of which being indicated by the several arrows shown. upper edge of the lint collector is held away from the surface of apron 11, it will be readily understood that any lint carried by the water will be arrested as the latter travels through strip 1.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, which is used for mounting on a vertically displaceable agitator such as shown in FIG. 8, the strips are additionally provided with a series of spacers 23, preferably made of rubber or simi-' lar resilient material, retained along the longitudinal edges of strip 1 and over strings 5. The manner of mounting this collector around the periphery of apron 11 of this agitator is the same as that described in conjunction with the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 4.

The manner of operation of the lint collector of this embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10 where it will be seen that the spacers 23 are retained at all times against the upper and lower surfaces of apron 11 due to the tension in strings 5. The latter will thus be kept constantly at a distance from the said surfaces so that there constantly exists a passage for the water that leads into the collector. In the same manner as in the case of FIG. 6, the water will travel through strip 1 while the lint will be retained in the annular pocket formed by the collector. Upward movement of the agitator -will cause entry of the water into the pocket through the upper opening during upward movement or" the agitator and entry of the water through the lower opening during downward movement thereof, as illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10.

It will readily be gathered and easily understood that strings 5 may easily and conveniently be replaced by resilient circular bands such as rubber bands, strip 1 being then weaved into a circular or annular form. Such lint collectors can more easily be placed on the circular edge of apron 11, or 11', but often have the inconvenience that it may break more easily during movement of the agitator. These rubber bands may of course be formed integral with strip 1.

Although specific embodiments have been described, it will be readily understood to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made thereto Without de- In this manner, and because the parting from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is to be construed from the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A lint collector for the lower circular edge of a bell-shaped washing machine agitator, comprising:

(a) an elongated strip of fabric having spaced edges and woven to arrest lint during passage of wash water therethrough; said strip formed as an annulus to fit over said circular edge;

(b) tightening means along the elongated parallel edges of said strip to tighten said strip above and below said circular edge to retain it against said agitator, and

(c) spacer means mounted at spaced intervals along the elongated parallel edges.

2. A lint collector as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tightening means are a pair of elastic circular bands, each mounted on one of said edges; the diameter of said bands being smaller than said circular edge to thus retain said strip on said agitator.

3. A lint collector as claimed in claim 1, wherein said strip is rolled inwardly along said parallel edges to define passages and said tightening means are strings threaded in said passages to loosely extend therein and of a length to project from the ends thereof so that the two ends of each string maybe tied together to place the edges under tension.

4. In a washing machine, the combination comprising:

(a) a generally bell-shaped agitator having a circular edge at the bottom thereof;

(b) a lint collector for said bell-shaped agitator comprising:

an elongated strip of fabric having spaced edges and woven to arrest lint during passage of wash water therethrough; said strip formed as an annulus to fit over said circular edge;

means along the parallel edges of said strip to tighten said strip above and below said circular edge to retain it against said agitator.

5. A combination as claimed in claim 4, said agitator having a series of evenly distributed upward vanes each formed with a notch adjacent said circular edge for the retainrnent of said means along one parallel edge of said strip.

6. A combination as claimed in claim 4, said agitator having a series of evenly distributed upward vanes each formed with a notch adjacent said circular edge; said means is a pair of circular elastic bands of a diameter smaller than said circular edge; one of said bands fitting under tension in said notches.

7. A combination as claimed in claim 4, said agitator having a series of upward vanes each formed with a notch adjacent said circular edge; wherein said strip is rolled inwardly along said parallel edges to define passages and said means are strings threaded in said passages to loosely extend therein and of a length to project from the ends thereof so that the two ends of each string may be tied together to place the edges under tension one of said parallel edges and corresponding string tightly fitting in said notches.

8. In a washing machine, the combination comprising:

(a) a generally bell-shaped agitator having a circular edge at the bottom thereof;

(b) a lint collector for said bell-shaped agitator comprising:

an elongated strip of fabric having spaced edges and woven to arrest lint during passage of wash water therethrough; said strip formed as an annulus to fit over said circular edge;

said strip rolled inwardly along said parallel edges to define passages;

a string threaded in each of said passages and of a length to project from the ends of said passages so as to be tied together to tighten said strip above and below said circular edge to retain it against said agitator;

a plurality of spacers mounted over said passages and strings to retain said parallel edges of said strip of fabric away from said agitator to allow 5 free passage of water therethrough.

616,524 12/1898 Cartledge.

2/1908 Lodge 15-247 6 Weston 210-484 X Anderson 15-210 X McCormick et a1, 68l34 Gerhardt et a1 68l34 X Abresch 6818 X Nowicki 6818 IRVING BUNEVICH, Primary Examiner.

WALTER A. SCHEEL, Examiner. 

1. A LINT COLLECTOR FOR THE LOWER CIRCULAR EDGE OF A BELL-SHAPED WASHING MACHINE AGITATOR, COMPRISING: (A) AN ELONGATED STRIP OF FABRIC HAVING SPACED EDGES AND WOVEN TO ARREST LINT DURING PASSAGE OF WASH WATER THERETHROUGH; SAID STRIP FORMED AS AN ANNULUS TO FIT OVER SAID CIRCULAR EDGE; (B) TIGHTENING MEANS ALONG THE ELONGATED PARALLEL EDGES OF SAID STRIP TO TIGHTEN SAID STRIP ABOVE AND BELOW SAID CIRCULAR EDGE TO RETAIN IT AGAINST SAID AGITATOR, AND (C) SPACER MEANS MOUNTED AT SPACED INTERVALS ALONG THE ELONGATED PARALLEL EDGES. 